1. Field of the Invention
In general, the invention relates to shelving that is attachable to a support, and more particularly, to a shelf for a desktop computer.
2. Description of Related Art
The last decade has seen a resurgence of industrial design in the consumer electronics industry. Nowhere has that resurgence been more evident than in the design of desktop and laptop computers. The changes are particularly notable in desktop computers—whereas desktop computers were once boxy enclosures that were designed to “hide” in or under desks, they are now made in a variety of shapes that are meant for display.
The renewed interest in industrial design has coincided with many improvements in the underlying technology itself that allow components to be packaged in new and different ways. For example, improvements in LCD display technology and shrinking component sizes have allowed a number of desktop computers to be constructed in a “flat panel” configuration, in which the logic board, memory, drives for storage, and other computing components are placed in the same housing as the LCD display.
The best known of these flat-panel desktop computer systems are probably those of Apple, Inc., which has been a leader in the design-in-computing movement. In particular, Apple's iMAC® line of desktop computers features a flat-panel, integrated LCD display and computer that is supported by a single-piece arm that connects to the flat panel in its rear center and extends downwardly at an angle, curving into a foot that supports the computer on a desk or other flat surface. The support arm in an iMAC® desktop computer is trapezoidal in shape and broadens in width as it extends downwardly from the computer. This basic design is shown, for example, in U.S. Design Pat. No. D605,193 to Andre et al., the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. While the look of the flat-panel computer itself has changed considerably over the years, the design of the support arm has seen only relatively minor changes.
Almost every area of the consumer electronics industry has a significant associated peripherals industry, and computers are no exception. Generally speaking, a peripheral is any device that increases or improves upon the capabilities or performance of a piece of equipment, or is otherwise designed to work with that piece of equipment. Classic computer peripherals include devices like printers and optical scanners. Typically, some peripherals are made by or under license from a computer manufacturer, like Apple, Inc., while other peripherals are made and sold by third party vendors with no connection to the manufacturer of the computer itself. Peripherals that are branded and sold by a manufacturer like Apple Inc. typically maintain a common functional and design aesthetic that closely matches that of the computer or other device with which they are designed to function. Third-party peripherals may or may not closely match the aesthetic of the computer or other device with which they are designed to function.
In the last few years, one peripheral manufacturer has determined that it is possible to use the support arm of a desktop computer like the iMAC® to support a shelf. U.S. Pat. No. 8,174,823 to Green describes this shelf and the manner of attaching it to the computer. According to the Green patent, the shelf is attached to the computer's support arm using connectors, like C-clamps, which are positioned and secured to the arm. From a mechanical design standpoint, using a clamp to connect a shelf to a support is an easy choice. However, clamps require effort to manipulate and secure, and may make it more difficult to set up the shelf.
In fact, the broader patent literature has many examples of attachable shelves that either use a mechanical connector to attach the shelf to its base of support, like the Green patent, or use additional features to counterbalance or support the load. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,335 to Almond, which discloses a shelf adapted to be attached to a tripod, uses an upturned flange that extends behind the support to counterbalance the bending moments created by the cantilevered load on the shelf.
Thus, while there are a number of ways in which a shelf might be attached to a computer like the iMAC® desktop computer, many of those ways are cumbersome for the user. In particular, the presence of additional connectors, flanges, and other mechanical pieces and parts adds unwanted mechanical complexity and may also detract significantly from the appearance of the shelf and of the computer-shelf combination as a whole. In a product with as strong a minimalist design aesthetic as the iMAC® desktop computer, the presence of additional connectors and mechanical parts in a peripheral shelf, and the difficulty of using them, may discourage users from purchasing and using the shelf.